BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1990: Freedom for Nelson Mandela 1990: Freedom for Nelson Mandela Leading anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela has been freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years. His release follows the relaxation of apartheid laws - including lifting the ban on leading black rights party the African National Congress (ANC) - by South African President FW de Klerk. Mr Mandela appeared at the gates of Victor-Verster Prison in Paarl at 1614 local time - an hour late - with his wife Winnie. Holding her hand and dressed in a light brown suit and tie he smiled at the ecstatic crowds and punched the air in a victory salute before taking a silver BMW sedan to Cape Town, 40 miles away. People danced in the streets across the country and thousands clamoured to see him at a rally in Cape Town. Our march to freedom is irreversible Nelson Mandela Doctors treated over a hundred people as police clashed with youths looting shops in various cities and townships and several people were reported shot dead.

Mr Mandela, the deputy-president of the ANC, appeared on the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall to speak to the 50,000 people assembled outside at 2000 local time. He acknowledged Mr de Klerk was a man of integrity, but said: "Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. Our march to freedom is irreversible." "Now is the time to intensify the struggle on all fronts. To relax now would be a mistake which future generations would not forgive," he continued. As he addressed the crowd South African state television broadcast a profile of Mr Mandela - including a BBC interview from 1961 - which was the first time he had been shown speaking on TV. Now 71, the lawyer from the Transkei homeland was convicted of treason and sabotage in June 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent most of his sentence on Robben Island, off Cape Town, doing hard labour. Since the 1980s he has refused numerous offers for early release from the government in Pretoria because of the conditions attached.

Nelson Mandela released from prison - Feb 11, 1990 - HISTORY.com This Day In History: 02/11/1990 - Nelson Mandela Released The Yalta Conference ends, the first Gold Record is earned by Glenn Miller, Dick Cheney accidentally shoots his friend, and Nelson Mandela is released from prison for anti-apartheid activities in This Day in History video. The date is February 11th. Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years and went on to become the President of South Africa. Lead Story Nelson Mandela released from prison Share this: Nelson Mandela released from prison Author Nelson Mandela released from prison URL Publisher A+E Networks Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990. In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg’s youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid–South Africa’s institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation.

However, after the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Nelson helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in guerrilla warfare against the white minority government. In 1961, he was arrested for treason, and although acquitted he was arrested again in 1962 for illegally leaving the country. Convicted and sentenced to five years at Robben Island Prison, he was put on trial again in 1964 on charges of sabotage. In June 1964, he was convicted along with several other ANC leaders and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison. Confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing, he was forced to do hard labor in a quarry. He could write and receive a letter once every six months, and once a year he was allowed to meet with a visitor for 30 minutes. However, Mandela’s resolve remained unbroken, and while remaining the symbolic leader of the anti-apartheid movement, he led a movement of civil disobedience at the prison that coerced South African officials into drastically improving conditions on Robben Island.

He was later moved to another location, where he lived under house arrest. In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC, suspended executions, and in February 1990 ordered the release of Nelson Mandela. Mandela subsequently led the ANC in its negotiations with the minority government for an end to apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial government. In 1993, Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. One year later, the ANC won an electoral majority in the country’s first free elections, and Mandela was elected South Africa’s president. Mandela retired from politics in 1999, but remained a global advocate for peace and social justice until his death in December 2013. Related Videos Nelson Mandela Was Released From Prison After 27 Years. These 10 Political Prisoners Are Still Waiting | The Huffington Post Nelson Mandela Was Released From Prison After 27 Years.

These 10 Political Prisoners Are Still Waiting 12/07/2013 12:51 pm ET | Updated Jan 25, 2014 940 Dominique Mosbergen Senior Writer, The Huffington Post AP In 1964, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison over his calls for a colorblind South Africa. He ended up serving 27 years behind bars . Hours after his release on Feb. 11, 1990, Mandela vowed to end apartheid once and for all, telling a roaring crowd : "Today, the majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our decisive mass action. We have waited too long for our freedom." Under Mandela's tutelage, apartheid was gradually dismantled over the next several years. It was a battle that he and his countrymen had fought immeasurably hard to win. But though Mandela, who died this week at the age of 95 , eventually won his fight, many around the world today continue to fight their own battles, risking their lives and their freedom to speak up against injustice.

Here, we share ten stories of political prisoners who are still suffering in jails around the world for standing tall in the face of repression. Pussy Riot, Russia AP Three members of the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot , Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, were arrested in March 2012 after the band put on a politically provocative performance at Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral. Donning colorful balaclavas, the young women danced in the altar of the church together with two other members of the band. They later used footage of the performance to create a music video for their protest song "Punk Prayer: Mother of God, Drive Putin Away." The three activists were arrested and put on trial for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred." While Samutsevich was freed on appeal, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova are currently serving two year sentences in prison.

Amnesty International considers them "prisoners of conscience." "I am not afraid of your poorly concealed fraud of a verdict in this so-called court because it can deprive me of my freedom," Alyokhina, 25, famously said in her closing statement during the trial, per Reuters . "No one will take my inner freedom away." Liu Xiaobo, China Patrick Lin/AFP/Getty Images Literary critic, writer and long-time human rights activist Liu Xiaobo was detained by Chinese authorities in 2008. The arrest occured mere days before the publication of "Charter 08," a manifesto co-authored by Liu that called for democratic and human rights reforms in his native country. Eventually tried on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power," Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 . According to a recent post by the Economist , the activist "hasn't been heard from directly since." Liu, who had been a vocal human rights advocate for decades and had taken part in the famous Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, much to the chagrin of Chinese leaders.

"I think this prize doesn't only belong to Liu Xiaobo one person, but also for all the people in China who advocate democracy, freedom and peace and for all the prisoners of conscience in jail," the Nobel Laureate's wife Liu Xia told Hong Kong's Cable TV at the time, per the AP. Eskinder Nega, Ethiopia AP/David Goldman Independent journalist Eskinder Nega is currently serving an 18-year sentence in his home country of Ethiopia on terrorism charges. Nega was arrested in 2011 after publishing a column which criticized the Ethiopian government for misusing the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to prosecute journalists and dissidents. Nega, who had been detained several times before for publishing articles that were critical of the government, was eventually tried and convicted under that very same law. Five days before his arrest, Nega reportedly said : “Freedom is partial to no race. Freedom has no religion. Freedom favors no ethnicity. Freedom discriminates not between rich and poor countries.

Inevitably freedom will overwhelm Ethiopia.” Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, Vietnam Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images Vietnamese Catholic priest and pro-democracy dissident Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly has spent almost 20 years in prison since the 1970s for his vocal advocacy for freedom and democracy. Father Ly was most recently arrested in 2007 for his involvement in the internet-based pro-democracy movement Bloc 8406. He was sentenced to eight years in jail. According to Freedom Now, Father Ly was granted a "temporary suspension" of his prison sentence in 2010 after he suffered from several strokes while behind bars. Amnesty International reports that the father was held mainly in solitary confinement during his imprisonment and had suffered from several periods of ill-health before having a stroke. The organization said he "received neither a proper diagnosis nor adequate medical care." Despite his fragile health, Father Ly, who has also been diagnosed with a brain tumor, was rearrested in July 2011 and remains in detention.

David Ravelo, Colombia Raul Arboleda/AFP Photo/Getty Images Prominent Colombian human rights activist and journalist David Ravelo is currently serving an 18-year sentence in a Bogota jail. Ravelo was convicted of "aggravated homicide" in a 2012 trial which national and international human rights organizations have called bogus . It is believed that Ravelo, was put behind bars as retribution for speaking out on human rights violations in his country. According to the International Federation for Human Rights , two United Nations representatives sent a communiqué to the Colombian government in 2011 expressing their concern that the “criminalization of David Ravelo occurs in the context of increasing prosecutions against human rights defenders in Colombia." (In the photo above, an unidentified demonstrator covers his face with a Colombian flag during an August protest march in Medellin, Colombia.) Filep Karma, Indonesia Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images Filep Karma, an advocate for the rights of Indonesia's Papuan population, was reportedly arrested in 2004 for treason after he raised the banned Papuan Morning Star flag during a gathering that celebrated the anniversary of the 1961 Papuan declaration of independence from Dutch rule.

Amnesty International considers Karma "a prisoner of conscience." The organization says that reports indicate that the political activist may be suffering from serious health problems in prison and that he has been beaten by prison guards. Lolo, Tibet Free Tibet Popular Tibetan musician Lolo was reportedly sentenced to six years in prison by Chinese authorities in February for recording an album of 14 songs that called for Tibet's independence. According to the non-profit Free Tibet , Lolo was likely "charged with 'splittism', a catch-all offense which allows the Chinese authorities to punish ethnic minorities defending their rights -- and which carries penalties up to and including execution." "In the Western world, protest songs can get you a place in the charts: in Tibet, they land you in jail," said Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren , Free Tibet's director, in June. "Music is one of the few ways that Tibetans can preserve the culture that China has sought to destroy, and political songs represent a courageous form of resistance to repressive rule." Akzam Turgunov, Uzbekistan Frontline Defenders In June, a group of 12 U.S.

senators, including John McCain, Dick Durbin and Marco Rubio, called on President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan to release three human rights defenders who they say have been unjustly incarcerated . Akzam Turgunov, a 61-year-old Uzbek human rights activist and political opposition leader, was one of the three political prisoners. Human rights groups say that Turgunov has been wrongly detained in Uzbekistan since 2008. He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges of extortion. According to the non-profit Freedom Now, Turgunov had been investigating corruption among local officials when he was arrested by officers at a police department that he had been scrutinizing . Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Bahrain Hasan Jamali/AP Considered the "father of Bahrain's human rights movement," Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is currently serving a life sentence in prison. According to the non-profit Freedom House, which bestowed al-Khawaja with their annual Freedom Award in 2012 , the long-time human rights defender was arrested and imprisoned following a series of pro-democracy uprisings in 2011.

Al-Khawaja, the co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has "endured numerous physical assaults, arrests, arbitrary detentions, and unjust trials as a result of his work," Freedom House says. The activist has reportedly been subject to torture while behind bars. Last February, al-Khawaja embarked on what would become a 110 day hunger strike to protest his wrongful detention. "If I die in the next 24 hrs, I ask the people to continue on the path of peaceful resistance," al-Khawaja, who was eventually force-fed by authorities, reportedly said in April 2012 . "I don't want anybody to be hurt in my name." Agnes Uwimana Nkusi, Rwanda Steve Terrill/AFP/Getty Images Rwandan journalist Agnes Uwimana Nkusi was sentenced to 17 years behind bars in 2011 for writing articles that opposed the Rwandan government, according to Reporters Without Borders. The then-editor of independent newspaper, Umurabyo, Uwimana and her co-worker Saidati Mukakibibi were charged with "inciting civil disobedience," among other charges, and imprisoned.

(In the photograph above, both Mukakibibi (left) and Uwimana are pictured.) Following the two journalists' convictions, Reporters Without Borders wrote that it was "appalled by the pigheadedness and cruelty of the Rwandan judicial system." “Anyone who freely expresses an opinion or is critical of the authorities risks not only arrest but also a severe sentence,” the organization added. According to Freedom Now, the Rwandan Supreme Court cleared Uwimana of some charges in 2012 and reduced her sentence to four years. However, she remains behind bars. Mukakibibi was reportedly released in June after serving a three-year sentence. Also on HuffPost: The Day Nelson Mandela Walked Out Of Prison : Parallels : NPR The Day Nelson Mandela Walked Out Of Prison Nelson Mandela, with his wife, Winnie, walks to freedom after 27 years in prison on Feb. 11, 1990, in Cape Town. AP hide caption toggle caption AP Nelson Mandela, with his wife, Winnie, walks to freedom after 27 years in prison on Feb. 11, 1990, in Cape Town.

AP Editor's Note: Wednesday marks the 25th anniversary of the day that Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered the negotiations to end apartheid. Greg Myre, the international editor of NPR.org , covered Mandela's release and recounts that day. The evening before his release from 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela was ushered into a secret meeting with South African President F.W. de Klerk for a conversation that sounded straight from the theater of the absurd. De Klerk told Mandela he would be a free man the next day, making good on a pledge the president had made a week earlier, though without setting the exact date. Yet Mandela was still caught off guard. "I deeply wanted to leave prison as soon as I could, but to do so on such short notice would not be wise," Mandela wrote later in his autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom. "I thanked Mr. de Klerk, and then said that at the risk of appearing ungrateful I would prefer to have a week's notice in order that my family and my organization could be prepared." Article continues after sponsorship Taken aback, de Klerk excused himself to consult with his advisers.

Several minutes later, he returned and insisted that Mandela, like a house guest who had hung around too long, would have to check out the next day whether he liked it or not. Mandela relented, and the jailer and the jailed shared a glass of whiskey. Seismic Change Enlarge this image Nelson Mandela, pictured in the early 1960s, before he was sentenced in 1964 to life in prison for sabotage. The government did not release photos of Mandela during his many years in prison, and few people knew what he looked like at the time of his release. Reuters /Landov hide caption toggle caption Reuters /Landov Nelson Mandela, pictured in the early 1960s, before he was sentenced in 1964 to life in prison for sabotage. The government did not release photos of Mandela during his many years in prison, and few people knew what he looked like at the time of his release. Reuters /Landov It would be impossible to overstate the electric sense of anticipation that coursed through South Africa as Mandela's release grew imminent.

Apartheid was still the law of the land, but de Klerk had declared sweeping changes that were rapidly dismantling the system of racial segregation. South Africans, black and white, knew their country was about to undergo seismic change, yet no one knew where it would lead. The black majority saw Mandela as their deliverance from more than three centuries of white domination. Many whites feared his release could unleash an explosive civil war along racial lines. As the nation projected its hopes and fears onto Mandela, the reality was that only a tiny circle of people had seen or heard him for the past quarter century. Mandela had disappeared from view in 1964 after giving a four-hour speech at the conclusion of his sabotage trial, where he was convicted and received a life sentence. He was a rugged young man in his 40s, a former boxer who had full cheeks, a beard and mustache and was always dressed in a suit at his court appearances. He spent most of his prison term on Robben Island, South Africa's version of Alcatraz. On this island fortress, Mandela often labored at a limestone quarry during the day, where the glaring sun harmed his eyes.

At night, he could see the twinkling lights of Cape Town in the distance. The damp conditions on the island likely contributed to the tuberculosis he contracted. During this time, Mandela's jailers, his fellow inmates and several family members were among the only people who saw him. The white government, in a futile attempt to diminish his reputation, never released photos of Mandela during his years of captivity. However, the law of unintended consequences prevailed. As time passed and the anti-apartheid movement grew, Mandela's invisibility only added to his mythic status and helped transform him into an international icon. A Polished Statesman Photo Gallery: Nelson Mandela Shortly after that odd meeting in Cape Town between de Klerk and Mandela on the eve of his release, the South African government reversed its long-standing policy and began handing out a photo of Mandela to the journalists who had converged on Cape Town. Nelson Mandela's Prison Adventures It was a simple snapshot of Mandela standing stiffly in a suit and tie, and yet it was mesmerizing. He had gone gray, though he still had a full head of hair. He was clean shaven and had become noticeably thinner in his face and torso.

He looked even more distinguished as an elder statesman than as the combative figure of the 1960s. Still, there was no clue about what kind of leader he would be. Would he be out of touch and too moderate for the young black activists born after he was incarcerated? Could he, or anyone, live up to his billing as a national savior? Would this 71-year-old man be up physically for the enormous demands of his new role? An Explosion Of Joy Mandela began to answer those questions shortly after he walked out the front gate of the Victor Verster Prison in suburban Cape Town on the sun-splashed afternoon of Feb. 11, 1990, arm-in-arm with his then-wife, Winnie. Each raised a fist in triumph. Black South Africa exploded with joy. A raucous crowd of some 100,000 blacks squeezed into the Grand Parade grounds outside Cape Town's City Hall, infusing it with the energy of a rock concert. Mandela was to deliver his first speech there, at what was almost certainly the largest black crowd ever to gather for an event in what was still formally a white city.

Yet for several excruciating hours after he left prison, Mandela again vanished from public sight. His organization, the African National Congress, did not want the white South African security forces present in large numbers at his first public appearance. The ANC was worried about the both the symbolism and the potential for violent clashes. However, the ANC, which had only recently been unbanned, had no experience organizing such a massive, unruly event. This was the first of many such dances between the white authorities and Mandela's ANC as they launched negotiations that would ultimately bring down apartheid. Enlarge this image Several hours after his release from prison, Nelson Mandela made his first speech on the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall. As he prepared to speak, he realized he had left his glasses in the prison. So he borrowed a pair from his wife Winnie. Udo Weitz/AP hide caption toggle caption Udo Weitz/AP Several hours after his release from prison, Nelson Mandela made his first speech on the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall. As he prepared to speak, he realized he had left his glasses in the prison. So he borrowed a pair from his wife Winnie.

Udo Weitz/AP Mandela Is Mobbed Meanwhile, Mandela's journey from prison to City Hall came to a virtual standstill as his car approached downtown Cape Town and was mobbed by supporters. "People began knocking on the windows, and then on the [trunk and the hood]," Mandela wrote. "Inside it sounded like a massive hailstorm. Then people began jumping on the car in their excitement. Others began to shake it and at that moment I began to worry. I felt as though the crowd might very well kill us with their love." Rather than continue into the crowd, Mandela diverted the driver to the nearby home of Dullah Omar, one of Mandela's lawyers. Omar was stunned to find Mandela at his front door. "Aren't you meant to be at the Grand Parade?" he asked. Mandela went in for a cold drink at Omar's home, but shortly afterward Archbishop Desmond Tutu called in great distress. "The people are growing restless. If you do not return straightaway, I cannot vouch for what will happen. I think there might be an uprising," Tutu told Mandela. Mandela got back in the car, only to be mobbed again as he approached City Hall.

He eventually arrived at twilight, facing a sea of frenzied supporters from the balcony. He took out his prepared remarks ... and realized he had left his reading glasses at the prison. So he borrowed Winnie's. His First Public Words He then uttered the first words most South Africans had ever heard him speak: "Comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom," said Mandela. "I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you the people. ... "Today, the majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our decisive mass action," he said in a speech frequently drowned out by roars from the crowd. "We have waited too long for our freedom." For a man cut off from the world for so long, Mandela looked at home in the spotlight, connecting with the black crowd that worshipped him, while taking the first steps to win over skeptical whites. However, Mandela later acknowledged that he felt anything but comfortable as he was thrust onto the world stage. "Frankly, when I saw that crowd, I must confess that I didn't have the courage, the confidence to speak to them.

It rather took me by surprise," he wrote in his autobiography. After speaking for 30 minutes, Mandela was whisked away. He wanted to spend his first night of freedom among black South Africans, yet for security reasons, he was taken to Tutu's home. However, the archbishop's official residence happened to be in a leafy, posh Cape Town suburb that was officially a whites-only neighborhood. Tutu was allowed to live there only because of his position. Across the country, celebrations and violent clashes lasted until dawn. Black South Africans danced and drank the night away in the black townships. White police fired on black looters. Rival black factions battled each other. Difficult days lay ahead. Political violence would claim more than 10,000 lives over the next four years, almost all of them blacks. Negotiations between de Klerk's government and Mandela's ANC stalled and broke down on multiple occasions before the country's first all-race election that elevated Mandela to the presidency in 1994. But on that summer's day in 1990, South Africa entered a new era, and Nelson Mandela was the man who led the way.

You can follow Greg Myre on Twitter @gregmyre1 . On This Day: Nelson Mandela Released From Prison more » Greg English/AP Nelson Mandela marches with his wife Winnie, who gives a black power salute, after his release from prison, Feb. 11, 1990. On This Day: Nelson Mandela Released From Prison February 11, 2011 06:00 AM by findingDulcinea Staff On Feb. 11, 1990, South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk freed anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Mandela had spent 27 years in prison. Mandela Goes Free as Apartheid Falls Nelson Mandela , as a leader in the African National Congress, an organization dedicated to protesting the South African government’s policy of apartheid, had been arrested in 1956 on treason charges, but was acquitted. In 1961, believing that non-violent measures would not be successful, Mandela and other ANC leaders formed Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a militant wing of the ANC. Beginning on Dec.

16, 1961, MK, with Mandela as its commander in chief, launched bombing attacks on government targets and made plans for guerilla warfare. Mandela was arrested in August 1962 and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1963, he was convicted a second time for sabotage . He received a life sentence on June 12, 1964, and was sent to prison on Robben Island. On the notorious Robben Island, Mandela lived in a tiny cell , received meager rations and performed hard labor in a lime quarry. “But Robben Island became the crucible which transformed him,” writes PBS. “Through his intelligence, charm and dignified defiance, Mandela eventually bent even the most brutal prison officials to his will, assumed leadership over his jailed comrades and became the master of his own prison.” In the 1980s, exiled ANC leader Oliver Tambo, Mandela’s former law partner, led an international movement to free Mandela. Many countries imposed sanctions on South Africa for its apartheid policies. In 1985, President P.W.

Botha offered to release Mandela , who had been moved to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, on the condition that he renounced violence. Mandela refused, saying, “Prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Only free men can negotiate.” F.W. de Klerk became president in 1989 and began to dismantle the policies of apartheid and release the ANC prisoners. On Feb. 12, 1990, Mandela was released after 27 years in prison . “Now is the time to intensify the struggle on all fronts,” Mandela said. “To relax our efforts now would be a mistake which generations to come will not able to forgive.” Nelson Mandela is freed | South African History Online South African History Online Home » Nelson Mandela is freed Nelson Mandela is freed source npr.org Sunday, 11 February 1990 On this day, Nelson Mandela was released unconditionally from prison after 27 years.

Accompanied by his then-wife Winnie, he left the Victor Verster prison (later renamed Drakenstein Correctional Centre) on the outskirts of Paarl and was driven the 60 kms to Cape Town by African National Congress'(ANC) Rose Sonto along a route lined by thousands of supporters. On the balcony of the City Hall he spoke to a crowd of approximately 50 000 people, who had waited for hours to see him. He started by expressing his sincere and warmest gratitude to the "millions of my compatriots and those in every corner of the globe who have campaigned tirelessly for my release". Mandela's release followed the relaxation of apartheid laws - including the unbanning of leading liberation organisations (e.g. ANC , SACP , PAC ) by then South African President FW de Klerk . In commemoration of his release, people across the country danced joyously in the streets. Unfortunately the revelry also caused some problems, as doctors had to treat over a hundred people as police clashed with youths looting shops in various cities and townships.

In Mdantsane, Ciskei, 10 people were killed when Ciskei soldiers used force against a group of revellers celebrating this liberation figure's release. Mandela’s release can be seen as the beginning of the new South Africa. References: • Coleman, M. (ed)(1998). A Crime Against Humanity: analysing the repression of the apartheid state, Johannesburg: Human Rights Committee, p. 269. • Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau. • Meer, F. (ed)(1993). The Codesa file. Durban: Madiba Publishers. Nelson Mandela's prison numbers – Nelson Mandela Foundation Nelson Mandela's prison numbers 5 August 1962: Arrested 7 November 1962: Sentenced to five years for leaving the country without a passport and incitement.

Begins serving his sentence at the Pretoria Local Prison Prisoner number: 19476/62 27 May 1963: Transferred to Robben Island 12 June 1963: Transferred back to Pretoria Local Prison Prisoner number: 11657/63 11 June 1964: Convicted of sabotage along with Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Raymond Mhlaba, Govan Mbeki, Elias Motsoaledi, Denis Goldberg and Andrew Mlangeni 12 June 1964: Sentenced to life imprisonment with Sisulu, Kathrada, Mhlaba, Mbeki, Motsoaledi, Goldberg and Mlangeni 13 June 1964: Arrives on Robben Island with Sisulu, Kathrada, Mhlaba, Mbeki, Motsoaledi and Mlangeni. Goldberg is sent to Pretoria as he is white Prisoner number: 466/64 31 March 1982: Transferred to Pollsmoor Prison with Sisulu, Mhlaba and Mlangeni.

They are joined by Kathrada in October Prisoner number: 220/82 28 February 1985: Goldberg is released 5 November 1987: Mbeki is released from Robben Island 12 August 1988: Taken to Tygerberg Hospital where TB is diagnosed 31 August 1988: Transferred to Constantiaberg MediClinic 7 December 1988: Transferred to Victor Verster Prison Prisoner number: 1335/88 15 October 1989: Sisulu, Kathrada, Mhlaba, Motsoaledi and Mlangeni released with Oscar Mpetha and Jeff Masemola 11 February 1990: Madiba released from Victor Verster Prison AP WAS THERE: Mandela's release from prison AP WAS THERE: Mandela's release from prison GREG MYRE Pin it Share FILE - In this Feb. 11, 1990, file photo, Nelson Mandela and his wife, Winnie, raise clenched fists as they walk hand-in-hand upon his release from prison in Cape Town, South Africa.

South Africa's president says, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, that Mandela has died. He was 95. (AP Photo/Greg English, File) More EDITOR'S NOTE — On Feb. 11, 1990, AP reporter Greg Myre was in Cape Town when Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years. Mandela walked out of Victor Verster prison hand-in-hand with his then wife, Winnie, as people worldwide rejoiced. The momentous event rivaled the fall of the Berlin Wall just a few months earlier as a symbol of newfound freedom. Twenty-three years after its original publication, the AP is making this story available to its subscribers. ___ Nelson Mandela walked through a prison gate to freedom Sunday, setting off joyous celebrations and violent clashes as blacks nationwide welcomed their leader back from 27 years in jail. "Comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all," Mandela told tens of thousands of cheering supporters who thronged outside City Hall at twilight, many getting their first look at the 71-year-old African National Congress leader.

But he emphatically reaffirmed his commitment to the ANC's guerrilla campaign and called for increased pressure to end white-minority domination - the same cause that resulted in his life sentence on charges of plotting against the government. He also reiterated that talks with the government cannot begin until it lifts the state of emergency. "I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you the people," said the white-haired Mandela, who looked much more an elder statesman in his suit and tie than a guerrilla leader. "Today, the majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our decisive mass action," he said in a rousing half-hour speech frequently interrupted by roars of "Viva 3/8" "We have waited too long for our freedom." Violence broke out about the same time Mandela's motorcade arrived in Cape Town from Victor Verster prison and delayed his speech. Police said a black looter was shot to death by officers, and first aid workers said more than 100 people were injured when riot police fired shotguns after groups of black youths smashed shop windows in the city center. Some youths retaliated by hurling bottles at the officers.

Hundreds of terrified people waiting to hear Mandela ran for cover as police fired blasts of shotgun pellets. Clashes between police and celebrating blacks were reported in at least two other areas, including the tribal homeland of Ciskei, where hospital officials said police shot three people to death and wounded 20. In Natal Province, where ANC supporters have been feuding with a more conservative black group, police said 12 blacks were killed in factional fighting Sunday. It was a harsh reminder of the bitter feuds involving black factions who disagree on the best way to fight for equality. Elsewhere, hundreds of thousands of blacks danced and jogged through the streets of big cities and impoverished townships, rejoicing at Mandela's freedom. "Very good news, very good news," President Bush said after Mandela's release. Bush said he telephoned Mandela, told him all Americans "were rejoicing at his release" and invited him to the White House. The Rev.

Jesse Jackson, speaking at a church service outside Cape Town shortly before Mandela was released, commended the South African government for making a "courageous step" but said "the pillars of apartheid remain in place." A thunderous cheer went up as the man who was the world's most famous prisoner walked hand-in-hand with his wife, Winnie, through the gate of Victor Verster prison in Paarl, 35 miles from Cape Town. Under a brilliant blue sky, the Mandelas gave clenched-fist salutes to the hundreds of supporters who had waited for hours outside, many of them waving green, gold and black ANC flags and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a youthful image of Mandela. Mandela appeared solemn and dignified as he and Winnie walked to a white BMW sedan and climbed in. He broke into a broad smile as the car set off slowly in a police-escorted motorcade. The decision to free Mandela, after a prolonged international campaign on his behalf, was announced Saturday by President F.W. de Klerk. Eight days earlier, de Klerk stunned the nation by lifting a 30-year ban on the ANC and announcing other reforms aimed at clearing the way for black-white negotiations.

De Klerk, who spoke at length Saturday on Mandela's release, stayed out of the public eye Sunday. Anton Pretorius, a de Klerk spokesman, said the president planned to comment on Mandela's release later in the week. Government television, however, broadcast live Mandela's exit from prison and later showed most of the ANC leader's speech. His elderly appearance probably shocked many South Africans, the majority of whom were born after Mandela was last seen publicly in 1964. Mandela has clearly lost weight since the 1960s; both his face and his body are leaner than when he was a sturdily built boxer decades ago. His face is creased with two thick lines that frame his strong, confident smile. Mandela in his speech called de Klerk "a man of integrity" who had gone further than any previous National Party leader in accommodating black political aspirations. But he said further steps - including the lifting of the state of emergency and release of all political prisoners - must be taken before talks can begin. The ANC shares these demands. Mandela was the last well-known political prisoner in South Africa.

Six of his ANC colleagues who had been imprisoned for more than 25 years, including Walter Sisulu, were released in October. In the mid-1980s, Mandela rejected offers to go free in exchange for a renunciation of violence. De Klerk abandoned this condition, although he said after meeting Mandela on Friday night that he believed the black leader was "committed to peaceful solutions." Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, one of the South African government's harshest critics, urged the ANC to suspend guerrilla actions in the wake of Mandela's release. But Mandela told the Cape Town crowd the ANC resorted to violence in 1961 as a "defensive action against the violence of apartheid," and added, "The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still exist today." "We have no options but to continue," he said. He urged whites to "join us in the safety of a new South Africa.

The freedom movement is a political home for you, too." Mandela, whose imprisonment included years of hard labor on windswept Robben Island in Cape Town's harbor, told his family: "Your pain and suffering was far greater than my own." Reblog BBC - History - Nelson Mandela released from prison (pictures, video, facts & news) Nelson Mandela released from prison Nelson Mandela released from prison 11 Feb 1990 Leading anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years. His release followed the relaxation of apartheid laws - including lifting the ban on leading black rights party the African National Congress (ANC) - by South African President FW de Klerk. Photo: ANC leader, Nelson Mandela and wife Winnie raising fists upon his release from Victor Verster prison after 27 yrs. (Allan Tannenbaum/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images) Introduction Freedom for Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela walks to freedom after 27 years in prison on Robben Island. Nelson Mandela walks to freedom after 27 years in prison on Robben Island. Thousands of people were both ecstatic and nervous as a delay in his release lead to riots.

Mandela addressed 50,000 people from the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall. More information about: Nelson Mandela released from prison Mr Mandela appeared at the gates of Victor-Verster Prison in Paarl at 16:14 local time - an hour late - with his wife Winnie. Holding her hand and dressed in a light brown suit and tie he smiled at the ecstatic crowds and punched the air in a victory salute before taking a silver BMW sedan to Cape Town, 40 miles away. People danced in the streets across the country and thousands clamoured to see him at a rally in Cape Town. Doctors treated over a hundred people as police clashed with youths looting shops in various cities and townships and several people were reported shot dead. Mr Mandela, the deputy-president of the ANC, appeared on the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall to speak to the 50,000 people assembled outside at 20:00 local time. He acknowledged that Mr de Klerk was a man of integrity, but said: "Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. Our march to freedom is irreversible." "Now is the time to intensify the struggle on all fronts.

To relax now would be a mistake which future generations would not forgive." Mandela Becomes a Free Man, 25 Years Ago - History in the Headlines Mandela Becomes a Free Man, 25 Years Ago February 11, 2015 By Evan Andrews Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie upon his release from Victor Verster prison on February 11, 1990. Share this: Mandela Becomes a Free Man, 25 Years Ago Author Mandela Becomes a Free Man, 25 Years Ago URL Google On February 11, 1990, after years of secret negotiations, international protests and bitter struggle, Nelson Mandela was finally released from South Africa’s Victor Verster Prison. By then, the 71-year-old activist and revolutionary had become the face of the anti-apartheid movement, and some 100,000 supporters flocked to Cape Town’s City Hall to hear his first public speech in nearly 27 years. By 1990, many South Africans had never known a world in which Nelson Mandela was a free man.

The renowned anti-apartheid campaigner had been under lock and key since 1964, when he was sentenced to life in prison for organizing armed resistance to South Africa’s white minority government. He had served 18 years at the notorious prison at Robben Island, where he spent his days doing hard labor in a lime quarry, and later contracted tuberculosis while languishing in a damp cell at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town. South African officials had tried to make Mandela disappear. They rarely granted him visitations, and made it a criminal offense to publish his photo or any of his writings. Yet his legend only grew during his years behind bars. The anti-apartheid African National Congress made him into a symbol of government injustice, and by the 1980s, the international community had rallied to his cause. “Free Mandela” became a common refrain in pop songs and protests across the globe, and many national governments began levying sanctions against South Africa. Mandela never lost his resolve while in prison—he even turned down several conditional offers for his release—and he eventually used his celebrity to enter into secret talks with the South African government regarding the country’s tenuous political situation.

By late-1988, Mandela had been moved to more livable quarters at Victor Verster Prison, where he regularly held court with South African officials and foreign dignitaries alike. At Mandela’s urging, South African President F.W. de Klerk broke rank with his party and ordered the release of several prominent black political prisoners in 1989. Shortly thereafter, de Klerk took the first steps toward reversing South Africa’s apartheid policies. Mandela only found out about his own release on February 10, 1990—the night before he was to be set free. “I deeply wanted to leave prison as soon as I could,” he later wrote in his autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom,” “but to do so on such short notice would not be wise.” During a meeting with President de Klerk, he tried to have his release pushed back a week so he could have time to organize with his family and the African National Congress. De Klerk refused, and Mandela was forced to scramble to make last minute plans with his team.

“It was a tense moment,” Mandela later said of the meeting, “and, at the time, neither of us saw any irony in a prisoner asking not to be released and his jailer attempting to release him.” A Sowetan holds up a newspaper announcing Mandela's release. (Credit: Trevor Samson/AFP/Getty Images) The following afternoon, an exuberant Mandela exited Victor Verster Prison and took his first steps as a free man in 27 years. The 71-year-old had only expected a small welcoming party, but as he strode through the prison gates hand-in-hand with his wife Winnie, he was greeted by thousands of swarming well-wishers and a brigade of reporters. For a man who had just spent the better part of three decades in a jail cell, the reception was almost too much to take. “I was astounded and a little bit alarmed,” he later wrote. “Within twenty feet or so of the gate, the cameras started clicking, a noise that sounded like some great herd of metallic beasts.

Reporters started shouting questions; television crews began crowding in…It was a happy, if slightly disorienting chaos.” If the boisterous reception was Mandela’s first indication of how famous he’d become during his years of confinement, it also offered reminders of how much the world had changed. He later recalled that when one newsman shoved a modern microphone in his face, he “recoiled slightly, wondering if it were some newfangled weapon developed while I was in prison.” After braving the adoring crowd, Mandela and his wife were ushered into a car and driven toward Cape Town, where he was scheduled to give a speech in a public square known as the Grand Parade. As the motorcade approached the site, Mandela’s driver inadvertently steered too close to the sea of gathered supporters, who began pounding on the windows in celebration. “Inside it sounded like a massive hailstorm,” Mandela wrote. “Then people began to jump on the car in their excitement. Others began to shake it and at that moment I began to worry.

I felt as though the crowd might very well kill us with their love.” The car finally broke free from the mob after more than an hour, at which point the chauffeur sped away from the city center in panic. Mandela was forced to make a detour to the home of one of his lawyers, where he stopped to have a cold drink and catch his breath. He had only been there for a few minutes when he received a frantic phone call from the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “Nelson, you must come back to the Grand Parade immediately,” Tutu urged. “The people are growing restless. If you do not return straightaway I cannot vouch for what will happen. I think there might be an uprising!” Mandela delivers his first speech following his release on February 11, 1990. (Credit: Walter Dhladhla/AFP/Getty Images) Mandela raced back to the Grand Parade and located a back entrance to Cape Town’s City Hall. Outside, some 100,000 South Africans impatiently awaited his appearance. Some had begun looting nearby stores, and shots rang out when police tried to control the crowd.

At dusk, Mandela finally strode onto the City Hall balcony to a deafening roar of cheers and applause. He’d accidentally left his reading glasses in prison, so he wore his wife’s pair as he began reading his prepared remarks. “Friends, comrades and fellow South Africans,” he said, “I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.” Mandela closed the speech by repeating a famous line from an address he’d given at his trial in 1964. “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination,” he said. “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Mandela at his first post-prison press conference, on February 12, 1990.

(Credit: Walter Dhladhla/AFP/Getty Images) After leaving the Grand Parade, Mandela passed his first night of freedom resting at Archbishop Tutu’s home. He would not be idle for long. The repressive system that had seen him spend more than a third of his life in prison was still in effect, and he spent the next several months traveling abroad to meet with world leaders and give speeches against apartheid. South Africa would endure four more years of controversy and mob violence before Mandela, de Klerk and others finally negotiated an end to white-only rule. “The road to freedom was far from smooth,” Mandela later acknowledged. The fervent public support that Nelson Mandela had experienced upon his release later carried him all the way to the presidency during South Africa’s first multiracial election in 1994. On the day of his inauguration, the former prisoner addressed a crowd of joyous South Africans and looked toward a future free of racial violence. “We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people,” he said.

“We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity—a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.” Tags

Question: In which year was Nelson Mandela released from prison?
Answer: 1990